The name Brooklyn can be used as a reference to the borough of the same name in New York, which was named Breuckelen after a town in the early settlers' native Netherlands. The word means 'broken land'. It can also be seen as an extension of the English surname Brook, meaning one who lived near a brook.
In the UK it is best known as a boy's name, after British power couple David and Victoria Beckham named their first son Brooklyn in 1999, although it remains uncommon.
However, in the US Brooklyn (and its variant spellings, Brooklynn, Brooklynne and Brooklin) is a fairly common girl's name taken from combining the pre-existing name Brook with the common -lyn ending found in several modern American girls' names, ie. Caitlyn, Ashlyn and Jaylyn.
Famous people called Brooklyn:
Brooklyn Beckham, model and son of David Beckham (born Brooklyn James Beckham)
Brooklyn Decker, American supermodel
Can be shortened to:
Brooke, Brook, Lyn Surnames to avoid Brooklyn with:
Surnames beginning with a 'N' sound, ie. Norton or Norman, might cause problems as when said aloud this combination of sounds may result in elision – when two words slurred together end up sounding like one.
Similar names:
Foreign variants include Gafar (Arabic), Jaffer (Hindi) and Byrne (Irish), all meaning 'brook'.
Similar-sounding English names include Brook, Brock and Franklin.
Female variations:
Brooklyn can be used as a girl's name, often spelt Brooklynn or Brooklynne to emphasise its connection to other female names with a similar ending.
Celebrities who named their baby Brooklyn:
David and Victoria Beckham
Jonathan Demme, who directed The Silence of the Lambs